The Wedding of Sarah & Neil - Linden Hall

Sarah & Neil must be the luckiest couple as their day was by far the hottest this year. We don't get many dry days in the Northeast of England so it was an added bonus.

I arrived early to capture the bridal preparations & details. The bridesmaids (Louise, Sarah & Christine) were in ivory dresses which made a change & looked fantastic, a very nice contrast against the guys in the dark tartan kilts! The 2 flower girls Georgia & Jessica were also in ivory & 1 year old Jacob matched the guys with his tiny kilt. Sarah looked stunning in her dress with fine detailed bodice, her hair up & with a elegant tiara.

I met the guys outside for some shots at the main entrance & then followed them over to the pub for some more reportage shots. Now I had forgot all about this day being Grand National day but the guys hadn't & out came the racing page from the newspaper while they all made bets by phone.

The ceremony was in a room with vaulted ceilings with twinkling fairy lights wrapped around the beams. Sarah & her father followed the bridesmaids led by the piper up the aisle to where a very emotional Neil stood with his brother/bestman. The ceremony was beautiful & their vows to each other very special.

After shooting the groups & a few of Sarah & Neil the wedding party headed not over to the banqueting hall but to the pub to watch the Grand National!!! Priorities first!!! ;-)

After the meal I managed to get a few more shots of Sarah & Neil on their own before the evening reception began with the fantastic band "Laughing Jacks".

Here are some of my favourites from Sarah & Neil's day.

Meet Floyd

As you will know if you follow this blog we bought our little Sam (a working cocker spaniel) last year.......well Sam needed a buddy & so after some careful research on the internet we decided on either a St Bernard or a Newfoundland (yes I know, huge dogs but these dogs aren't any ordinary dog)!!!!

We met up with a breeder Shambrabern who had 19 St Bernards, haha yeah 19, Nick & Cath's love for these gentle giants is unbelievable. After spending a few hours at their farm up in Eastgate & seeing how the dogs were with our girls we fully understood how these guys are ohterwise known as gentle giants.

The following day we headed to Barachois down in Northallerton. Debra (another amazing person & huge lover of her animals) breeds Newfoundlands & Irish Wolf hounds. Again these beauties have wonderful temperaments with children & strangely enough our girls weren't put off by the general size of these guys! They had four little chunky pups playing quite happily amongst all the excitement while we met their gorgeous parents Boris & Stella along with plenty cuddles from them.

We left for lunch to a nearby village & talked about both St Bernards & Newfoundlands. After being introduced to both breeds the decision was impossible as we adore both. We left & headed straight back to Barachois to buy our new member of the family "Floyd" & once he is fully potty trained we will buy a St Bernard pup. Now you may think I'm mad but many people that do buy one of these gentle giants usually come back for another & speaking from the heart.........I can certainly see why!!! :-)

Here are a few pics of our Floyd, he sleeps most of the time as he is only 8 weeks old, but when he is awake he is so playful & very cute. Sam our other pup who will be 1 in June is worn out which makes a pleasant change!!!

I'll keep you updated on Floyd's progress from time to time as he wont stay this size for very long ;-)

Easter Egg Hunt

Easter Sunday & the girls couldn't wait to get out into the garden to hunt for eggs. Even Boo joined in & managed to find a few!!